This Healthy Mediterranean Pasta Salad is filled with veggies, beans and is high in Omega-3s thanks to a flax oil dressing that pulls it all together.
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Barlean's, as a part of my ongoing partnership as part of their Blogger Team. As always, all opinions here are my own.
My husband, as I've mentioned before, is an enviously healthy eater. I am always amazed at his will power and fortitude {not to mention his ability to eat completely bland food just because it is good for him}, and am grateful that his habits have somewhat rubbed off on me.
Left to my own devices, I would happily eat cheese and crackers for lunch or enjoy a bowl of cereal for dinner, punctuating those meals with things like ice cream and good chocolate. When you marry someone who is not only a healthy eater, but also a healthcare professional, you wind up learning a lot of things that you can't unlearn, and therefore, make better choices. {Rats.}
Unlike Steve, however, I need my meals to taste as good as they are good for me, and have trouble eating things for the sake of nutrition alone. Luckily, I am fairly creative in the kitchen, so I can usually find a way to check both boxes.
One thing that has helped immensely in packing the maximum amount of nutrients into each meal is becoming familiar with "add-ins" that can be seamlessly incorporated into dishes I already enjoy. Whether it's sprinkling some chia seeds over my oatmeal, replacing butter with coconut oil in my baking or incorporating ground flax into muffins and pancakes, I have found tons of ways to get a little extra boost without sacrificing flavor. {This is also how I've been able to get my kid to eat something other than plain brown rice in the past few months.}
This month, my friends at Barlean's asked the members of their blogger team to come up with some delicious ways to "eat clean" using their ground flax and flax oil. Having never used flax oil before, I did some reading to learn some more about it! {Speaking of reading, they also sent us a copy of the cookbook Eating Clean by Amie Valpone of The Healthy Apple, and it's a great place to get ideas for super clean, super delightful recipes!}
As it turns out, flax oil is brimming with Omega-3 fatty acids, which your body not only needs to function, but that have also been found to reduce the risk of heart disease, arthritis, depression and a host of other ailments. Before you swap out flax seed for other oils in your cooking, it's important to know that the nutrients in flax seed oil are temperature-sensitive, and therefore shouldn't be heated. {Which is why Barlean's uses cold-press technology to produce theirs and packages it in dark, opaque bottles to protect the oil from heat and light.}
You can take flax oil straight up or blend it into smoothies, spreads and vinaigrettes, but I used mine to create a dressing for my healthy Mediterranean Pasta Salad. Filled with veggies, beans and -- most importantly, flavor! -- this dish is a fantastic addition to spring picnics or simply the lunch or dinnertime circuit.
Any dish that is approved by me AND by the husband is a dish that is here to stay. Try this recipe and enjoy a bowl {or two!} knowing that you're not only filling your belly with something tasty, but also filling your body with something rather nutritious!
Healthy Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups fusilli pasta {I used gluten free brown rice pasta}
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 grape tomatoes
- 1 cup diced zucchini
- ⅓ cup chopped jarred roasted red pepper or fresh red bell pepper
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 1 clove garlic minced or grated
- 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
- ⅓ cup crumbled feta cheese
For Dressing
- ¼ cup Barlean's Flax Oil
- Juice from ½ a lemon {or about 1 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar}
- ½ teaspoon dried dill weed
- ¼ teaspoon dried mint
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add fusilli or desired pasta. Cook pasta according to package directions.
- While the pasta is cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add tomatoes and zucchini and saute, stirring every couple of minutes until zucchini is softened and tomatoes are blistering.
- Mix in chopped red pepper and chickpeas and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic. Cook for about a minute.
- Stir in spinach and cook for a minute or two until just beginning to wilt, then remove pan from heat.
- When pasta is ready, drain completely and add to the vegetable mixture. Fold together gently until fully combined. Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes.
- Make Dressing: Whisk together flax oil, lemon juice, herbs and salt until opaque and emulsified.
- Pour dressing over the cooled pasta mixture and add crumbled feta cheese; toss gently to coat.
- This can be eaten immediately, or refrigerated and served cold as pasta salad.
Shana says
I will definitely be making this! I have a jar of roasted red peppers that I have not found a use for, problem solved!
thekitchenprep says
Woohoo! Glad I could help! ?
Magdalena Dohler says
Which oil does it taste most closely to: sesame, coconut, olive? Also- I did NOT know that about flax! So me putting it in my hot oatmeal on the stove top has been for nothing because of the heat? Love learning something new here, thanks!
thekitchenprep says
Hmm... I'd say it has its own distinct taste. Sort of nutty, maybe? In this recipe, you can't really taste the oil because the rest of the flavors are strong, especially with all the herbs. If it ever tastes "off", bitter or burnt, toss it -- it's probably gone rancid. Make sure you're storing it in the fridge once you open the bottle. You can still use flax oil in your oatmeal, but just wait until it's done cooking and drizzle it over your serving once it's cooled a bit. I'm glad I could share something new so you you can get the full benefit! <3